Pieces

One day everything is normal

And the next day it all breaks.

I somehow learn to navigate

These broken, jagged shards,

This deconstructed heart.

One piece than another

Find their way together,

But nothing is ever the same.

~*~

Written for my Thursday Inspiration 26

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

We DO need badges!

SOCS badge contest entry!

Please vote for me… and the cute critters! Thank you! ❤️

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

POP! Go the Tunes!

Beckie tagged me in this week’s POP! The theme is happy songs that make me want to smile and dance. Here are my 3 picks:

I tag Angie to continue the theme.

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Thursday Inspiration 26

Welcome to Thursday Inspiration! This is my weekly prompt post and hopefully it will inspire you to write something creative, perhaps a poem or a piece of flash fiction. If you’d like to share your writing with the community, please indulge me and tag your post with #p0eticlicense and/or #lightm0tifs, and of course link back if you wish. I will try to visit everyone who participates. 🙂

This week’s theme is heart and the picture is below. Here is the song snippet from “Heart of Glass” recorded by Blondie in 1978:

Once I had a love and it was a gas
Soon turned out had a heart of glass
Seemed like the real thing, only to find
Mucho mistrust, love’s gone behind

~*~

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Something You Don’t Know [fiction 888]

[This is a multi-part story. Lexi Brown is trying to escape her past and create a new life for herself in Otter Village, 500 miles from where a traumatic event occurred 6 months ago. In our last episode, we read that Lexi and Kevin both have baggage and trust issues that will make a relationship challenging.

Here are the posts in order so far:

Falling
Sisterly Chat
Smoothies
The Angry Brother
Trust Issues]

Lexi felt so relieved to see Kevin at the door. She didn’t want to be alone tonight! Vicky had left several anxious voicemails, asking if Lexi had heard from Dan and to please call ASAP. They’d just gotten off the phone, and Vicky sounded totally freaked out by her encounter with Dan at the park. Nick was concerned too, jumping in at the end and warning Lexi to be extra careful, which was ominous coming from a cop.

“Hi!” Lexi greeted Kevin brightly with a quick hug. “I’m so happy to see you! Come on in. The first tray of cookies is ready!”

Kevin looked bemused. “Great, thanks. For a second there, you seemed upset.”

“Me? Ha ha. Not at all!” She motioned for him to follow her down the hall, past the great room where a couple other tenants were watching sports on TV, back to the kitchen/dining area. “Just making sure my cookies don’t get burnt. No one likes burnt cookies!”

She fussed over him like a silly girl, trying to distract herself, making sure he had a plateful of perfect cookies and exactly what he wanted to drink. “Are you sure you don’t want coffee? It’s no trouble to make a pot.”

Kevin smiled. “I’m sure. This iced tea is fine, thanks. But you’re acting like you swallowed a few caffeine pills yourself. Sit down and relax!”

“I guess I am a bit wired,” she admitted, trying for some honesty. “I was talking to my sister right before you got here and we always get each other’s energy levels up.”

She noticed that Kevin’s smile faded when she mentioned Vicky, and she wondered if he could tell she wasn’t being straight. Though they hadn’t known each long, she had a sense he was trustworthy; besides that, she needed to confide in someone after Vicky had made her feel so nervous for her safety again. She didn’t know anyone else in Otter Village well enough to tell her secrets to.

“This crazy thing happened last spring,” Lexi whispered across the table. “I try not to talk about it. I came here to escape from it really. But today I found out that–”

“I can barely hear you over the fan,” Kevin said. “But… if you’re trying to tell me that you’re Alexandra Mitchell, I already know.”

Feeling a confusing mixture of relief, anger, and fear, Lexi arose from her seat at the table and walked over to the patio doors. She stared out at the darkness, wondering if Dan was going to storm up here, as Vicky feared, and continue harassing her about how she was responsible for Jim’s death.

But how did Kevin know her real name? Stalking her on the internet probably. She felt betrayed that she wasn’t allowed to keep anything private. Couldn’t start over. Couldn’t stay anonymous. Coming up here was all for nothing. Except…

“Full moon,” Kevin remarked, coming up behind her.

Lexi shrugged.

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t wait until you told me.” Kevin touched her shoulder. “But I was curious if my mind was playing tricks on me. I could have sworn I saw you before and–”

She held up a hand to stop him. “I get it. My face was everywhere. It was a huge story. And now Dan can’t let it go.”

“Dan?” Kevin frowned. “Who’s Dan?”

“Oh, so there’s something you don’t know,” she snapped at him.

“I guess I should go,” he said, stepping away from the patio doors. “Thank you for the cookies, Lexi. They were really delicious.”

“Stop!” she said as he reached the doorway, and he turned around abruptly. “You have to take some with you.”

“Okay,” he said and leaned against the doorframe.

“I don’t have any Tupperware,” she said as tears formed in her eyes. “These are all Carolyn’s. I should get some…” sniffle… “Tupperware. But I have some baggies and you can rinse them out and reuse them.” She wiped her eyes on a napkin. “You really should, Kevin. Else it’s so wasteful.” Her shoulders shook as she tried not to cry.

He came over and hugged her. “If it means this much to you, I promise to wash and reuse the damn baggies. I’ll take pics.”

“Thank you,” she said into his chest. He was solidly warm. “I’m sorry for snapping at you. It’s okay to know things.”

Kevin continued to hug her and stroke her hair, which felt absurdly comforting after being alone this whole month with no one to talk to except Vicky on the phone, since she’d deleted all her social media and was trying to be nobody. Also, Kevin was so cute and yummy, so there was that…

“Here’s something you don’t know,” he said, “which might make it easier to talk to me from now on, if you want to.”

She lifted her head and stared at him. “Are you a cop too? That would be convenient!”

“Sorry to disappoint you.” He laughed. “But no. I’m just totally smitten with you, is what I was going to say. But I can see how having an armed guard might be more helpful.”

She wrapped her arms around him. “I’m good with this.”

He gazed into her eyes, and just when she thought he was going to kiss her, he said, “Now, who’s Dan?”

[to be continued]

~*~

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

One-Liner Wednesday

If you can’t grok this dishy 1961 transformational grammar, golden-ager, just lip-synch to some soul music, take a diazepam, and don’t call me in the morning.

^^^ That was my one line… bolded words courtesy of my birth year neologisms. You can find yours by entering your birth year at this link. Diazepam is Valium, if you didn’t know ~ a great invention, if I do say so myself. Yay science! 😍

Here are more neologisms from 1961, grouped in what I think is an interesting way…

-bionic, computer science, operating system

– chocoholic, fettuccine Alfredo, eating disorder

-gunnery sergeant, military-industrial complex, compassion fatigue

-rocks glass, mai tai, after-party

And my personal favorite… benign paroxysmal positional vertigo! Thanks for that one. 🙄

Written for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Miko’s Plan [fiction 610]

[This is a multi-part story. We previously read that Liana had been declared a guest of the island Queen. She’d been spending her days in luxury after a harrowing ordeal at sea. But now a ship has been captured and she must pretend to celebrate with the others.

If you’d like to read the chapters in order, please follow this list. Thanks!

The Murmuration
Liana’s Journey Continues
Captured
The Shark’s Tooth
An Honored Guest

Miko stood in the shadows of the royal hall and watched Liana delicately nibble on fruit from a tray held by her servant girl Sura. He remembered carrying Liana when she’d fainted on the sand, months ago, after the storm, after she’d killed his men. She’d been skinny as a stick back then. Ugly as a lizard.

But look at her now. She glowed, her long black hair was silky and lustrous. Her body was as plump as a sweet summer berry. And somehow, she was with child, halfway along. The Queen had declared it was another gift from the gods, but Miko didn’t believe that. He figured Liana had become pregnant the usual way and then gotten lost at sea. Though how she’d managed to kill his men, seasoned warriors both, was a a mystery.

“You said you know that girl?” he said to the man beside him.

Terrified, his hands bound with rope, and his body bruised and bleeding, the prisoner managed a nod.

Miko pushed him forward to the center of the room. Everyone grew quiet as Miko announced, “My men captured a second ship fishing in our territory, near the southern coast. Unfortunately most died except this one. He says he recognizes Liana.”

There was a collective gasp. A low murmur began. “Silence!” shouted the Queen. “What is the meaning of this, Commander Miko? How dare you offend our honored guest, a gift from the Storm God himself?”

Miko watched Liana shrink back in fear and knew he was right about her. She wasn’t special, just an ordinary girl, though a beautiful one now. And he meant to have her. It was the least the Queen could do after Liana had killed his men.

“I am but your humble servant.” Miko bowed deeply to the Queen in the fawning manner that he knew she liked. “But this wretched prisoner insists he knows your guest. He gives me no peace. I beg your pardon to allow him to speak.”

The Queen turned her wrath on the trembling man. “Speak, fool! What do you know of our Liana? She came to us from the storm, after the murmuration and the rainbow, as was foretold. We have had great fortune since!”

The prisoner cleared his throat. “Liana is from our sister island, dear Queen. We traded with them before the great volcano destroyed them all. She is the daughter of Benji, who was their blind oracle. Twenty-one years ago, a trading party visited and one of our daughters stayed behind for a summer to learn from him. She returned home with much knowledge and a baby.”

Miko kept his eyes on Liana as the prisoner rattled on. The others were enraptured by his story, but Miko was more interested in Liana’s reactions. Tears glistened in her eyes, but then she caught him staring at her and smiled. She whispered to her maid and they giggled. She then gazed at the fruit tray, seemingly bored with the story. As she selected a piece of mango, her gaze flicked back to his and she began to play with her shark’s tooth necklace.

“…fever. Then Liana came to live with a family on Benji’s island. She was still so small she probably never remembered her real mother.” The prisoner sagged as he finished speaking. No one offered him food or drink.

“Liana,” the Queen said. “Is there any truth to this idiot’s babbling? Have you ever met a blind oracle?”

Liana smiled. “No.”

“Kill him and then roast him,” the Queen commanded, and her warriors dragged the prisoner away as he began shrieking. “Where are my royal musicians?”

[to be continued]

~*~

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Trust Issues [fiction 801]

[This is a multi-part story. Lexi Brown is trying to escape her past and create a new life for herself in Otter Village, 500 miles from where a traumatic event occurred 6 months ago. In our last episode, we read that Dan, the brother of Lexi’s deceased husband, has discovered where Lexi lives and is raging angry about what he believes has transpired.

Here are the posts in order so far:

Falling
Sisterly Chat
Smoothies
The Angry Brother]

Lexi didn’t hear her phone buzz with Vicky’s message warning her about Dan because she was in the middle of a Very Serious Task and had her favorite Taylor Swift CD blasting.

Yep, Lexi was baking her famous peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, and she wanted the first tray done and cooled by the time Kevin was due here in about an hour. She creamed the butter and sugar, smiling at the memory of how kind he’d been to her last week at the festival. She’d put the cute otter beanie baby on her dresser upstairs, right next to her jewelry box.

Maybe once they got to know each other a little better she could confide in him. Tell him about what happened in the city, Jim’s depression, their separation, his crazy anger. That horrible day. It would be nice to have a strong, comforting shoulder to lean on. But not yet. She needed more time. Attraction happened in a second, but trust had to bake. Like these delicious cookies, it couldn’t be rushed.

*

Kevin left the hotel early, deciding he needed a beach run before showering and going over to Lexi’s place. So many thoughts whirled through his head. He wanted them to settle down before he saw her again. He knew who she was now, and he understood why she hadn’t said anything.

Being a curious guy with a good memory, Kevin knew he’d seen Lexi’s face before. Spending time with her at the otter festival had made him even more certain of it. Yet, he was sure they hadn’t met before the day he’d helped her after she’d fallen off her bike. He wouldn’t have forgotten a woman as pretty as Lexi Brown. He must have seen her online. So, he did a search. It didn’t take long to find her picture, since the news orgs had uploaded so many versions of it last spring. Wow. He felt so bad for her when he read the story of her crazy ex coming into her store and threatening people. She could have been killed!

The idea of Lexi lying on the floor in a pool of blood left Kevin shaken. He pounded his way down the packed sand in hopes of dislodging the awful mental image. It didn’t happen; she was safe! Her brother-in-law had negotiated her rescue, along with her coworker, and then another cop had shot and killed her ex. Kevin wondered if Lexi blamed herself for that.

Kevin’s ex-girlfriend Emily had been tangled up in guilt over her parents’ death in a car accident she thought she caused, and it had affected their relationship to the point that Kevin had broken off their engagement. He’d felt terrible about it, but when Emily had repeatedly declared she’d never have children because something bad might happen to them, he couldn’t deal with her any longer. She’d refused to see a counselor, telling him there was nothing wrong with not wanting kids. There wasn’t. But he wanted them.

He had also escaped, like Lexi, taking this job in a remote town to avoid the censuring eyes of all their mutual friends, along with his own family. Everyone thought he’d been “mean” and should have given Emily more time. And, ironically, she was now married to someone else… and had a baby. Oh life!

Kevin kept running, then abruptly turned around. He loved how deserted this place was. The sun was setting ~ it was a perfect evening for a jog ~ and yet he was alone on this stretch of sand. He slowed to cool down. Took deep breaths of the fresh, salty air. Even though it had been a couple years since Emily, he still felt a bit raw. And Lexi was certainly still grieving. Much too soon for either of them to get involved.

But… she was so pretty. And she had such wonderful sparkling brown eyes. It was so sweet of her to invite him over for dessert tonight when he’d stopped by her gift shop yesterday. He didn’t even know why he went in there… he never went to souvenir row. But he had convinced himself he was hungry for a vegan sandwich from the place next door to her. Yeah right.

They could just be good friends though. Kindred spirits. Have smoothies together. Pick each other up when they fell off their bikes. And if they weren’t doing anything special for Thanksgiving, maybe they could spend the day together. No biggie.

Kevin showered, changed, walked over to Lexi’s place. Knocked three times.

She opened the door and the scrumptious odor of something baking wafted out. “Hi, Kevin. Come in.”

“Hey.” He immediately noticed that her eyes weren’t sparkling and her face was paler than the dusting of flour across her chin. “What’s wrong?”

[to be continued]

~*~

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

TWS: Family Time

I had a lovely day yesterday. I drove up to LA to visit my daughter, SIL, and grand baby. It was my first “official” visit to their new condo, so I brought flowers (pictured) and a few other goodies. My daughter made lunch ~ she’s such a good cook ~ and we all hung out for the afternoon. I stayed longer than I planned to because it was hard to tear myself away from the baby. She’s walking all over the place now and babbling all the words. It’s just adorable!

Driving home was tiring… over an hour in yucky late afternoon traffic. I planned to do some work and catch up on blog stuffs last night, but my eyes wanted to close. I put on Crazy People starring Dudley Moore and Daryl Hannah, which was mildly funny, and zoned out with that instead.

I know that memories of yesterday with my family will keep me smiling all week!

Written for Trent’s Weekly Smile.

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Questions from Carol Anne

My lovely friend Carol Anne has given me some questions. They’re associated with her Liebster Award. Congrats on your award, Carol Anne, and thanks for thinking of me! 💖

My 11 questions to you my nominees are:

1. Can you swim?

I know the basics, but I’m not a strong swimmer, and frankly I prefer to stay on land and gaze out at the beautiful waves.

2. Pepsi or coke?

Coke, please.

3. Snail mail or email?

Email is less wasteful.

4. Do you enjoy traveling?

No. Shocking, I realize. Everyone loves to travel, right? Well, I do enjoy experiencing new sights, attractions, nature, etc., but the expense and inconvenience make it a net negative for me. Travel is very costly unless you go by car, split the cost of gas, have people to put you up at your destination, yada. Or go camping, lol. Then there are all the migraine triggers for me that happen from noise, light, discomfort, etc. Also, there is my ongoing back/neck pain. Not to mention I don’t like leaving my kitty for more than a couple nights because I miss him too much! 🐱❤️

5. Snow or rain?

I’m from the East and honestly I miss the idea of snow but not the reality of it. Snow is beautiful and fun, if you don’t have to be anywhere and can bundle up and take a lovely walk. Rain can be romantic if you’re snuggled indoors with your sweetie, or a kitty and a good book, but again not if you have to drive in it. Since I’m in California, land of perpetual drought, I welcome any and all precipitation! Of course, we always get the “wrong” kind, in the “wrong” place, so they tell us the drought goes on…

6. What is one of your favourite quotes?

Life is short; eat dessert first. 🧁

7. Are you a glass half full or glass half empty sorta person?

Depends on the day.

8. What is your favourite flower?

Sunflower. Or tulips!🌷

9. If you could give your younger self some advice what would you say?

Go to Northwestern (in high school)! Stop dating insane men (in the 1980s). Buy tech stocks (in the 1990s)! Sell the tech stocks (before the crash). STOP DATING INSANE MEN. 🙄

10. If you had one superpower what would it be?

Repelling insane men.

11. Favourite book?

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. Tied for second place: Where I’m Calling From (short stories by Raymond Carver) and Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (short stories by Haruki Murakami).

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.